U23s Earn Point Against West Ham In Dagenham
The clash saw Adrien Silva, Robert Huth and Ahmed Musa notch up some valuable game time, while Harvey Barnes also featured having made his first start for the Club last weekend at Fleetwood Town.
Both sides headed into the game on the back of significant wins. While the Foxes had previously swept Tottenham Hotspur aside with a 6-1 triumph, the London outfit defeated Manchester United 3-0 away from home earlier in the week.
It proved to be West Ham who would first have an attempt on goal, as Domingos Quina worked the ball onto his left foot before dragging wide of Daniel Iversen’s left-hand post.
City responded well. Sam Hughes volleyed off target from the edge of the box and Barnes forced Nathan Trott into a routine stop before the midfielder had another attempt on goal. This time, he fired wide from a tight angle with 20 minutes gone.
Both sides continued to trade blows. First, Grady Diangana curled a free kick past the post, while it was Silva’s turn to have an attempt from a dead-ball situation. Approximately 25 yards from goal, the former Sporting Lisbon man saw Trott tip his effort wide.
While there would be no breakthrough in the first period, Trott was well tested after the break, as Musa pinched the ball off centre back Tunji Akinola before seeing a strike turned behind.
After Iversen denied Martin Samuelsen with an hour gone, a flurry of opportunities followed for City. Hughes headed substitute Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall’s corner over the bar and Musa dragged wide before Dewsbury-Hall had a chance of his own to win it, only to see his effort blocked inside the area.
Iversen was thankful Marcus Browne’s low shot didn’t creep in at the front post in injury time, while Barnes was unfortunate to see his strike hit a West Ham defender just before the full-time whistle.
Major moment
After emerging from the bench with just under 30 minutes to play, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall came just inches away from finding the back of the net with 88 minutes on the clock.
His left-footed strike appeared to be heading past Hammers stopper Nathan Trott, but a vital last-ditch block saw the midfielder denied a late winner.
Who impressed?
Striker Josh Gordon, who has scored four goals for the Development Squad this term, caused problems throughout, working the channels well to stretch West Ham United’s back line.
It wasn’t just a forward threat that Gordon offered, though, as he found himself in the right and left back positions on a number of occasions to put in a solid defensive shift and help City keep their clean sheet intact.
Where do we stand?
The Foxes remain second in the table, but following Liverpool’s 3-2 loss to Manchester City, Steve Beaglehole’s men are just one point away from the Premier League 2 summit.
Coming up…
Next up for the Development Squad is a Checkatrade Trophy Round 3 tie with former Fox Richie Wellens’ Oldham Athletic at Boundary Park (7:45pm kick-off).
The details…
West Ham: Trott, Byram (Powell 62), Pike, Coventry, Akinola, Alese, Diangana (Browne 73), Makasi (c), Martinez, Quina (Scully 77), Samuelsen
Subs not used: Hector-Ingram, Matrevics
City: Iversen, Choudhury (c), Wood, Hughes, Knight, Huth, Musa, Silva (Dewsbury-Hall 62), Gordon (Eppiah 75), Barnes, Thomas
Subs not used: Johnson, Bramley, Ndukwu
Referee: Neil Hair